Facebook has introduced new tool “The Hashtag”, allowing users to add the # symbol before a word to signify its topic and ease searches on the social network.
Twitter popularised the use of the hashtag, which has subsequently been picked up by other social media sites such as Facebook-owned Instagram, Tumblr and Pinterest.
In a blog post, Facebook said it wanted to make it easier for its users to participate in a common conversation.
“Every day, hundreds of millions of people use Facebook to share their thoughts on big moments happening all around them,” Greg Lindley, a Facebook product manager, wrote.
“Whether it’s talking about a favorite television show, cheering on a hometown sports team or engaging with friends during a breaking news event — people on Facebook connect with their friends about what’s taking place all over the world.”
From yesterday (Wednesday), “hashtags on Facebook allow you to add context to a post or indicate that it is part of a larger discussion. When you click on a hashtag in Facebook, you’ll see a feed of what other people and Pages are saying about that event or topic”.
Twitter’s hashtag use has been very popular for connecting real-time Tweets which are limited to 140 characters.
Facebook said users would also be able to click on hashtags that originated on other apps, such as photo-sharing service Instagram, that already uses the tool.
